Tokyo Meal Count – The United States is tied with China for the number of total medals but falling even further behind in the quest for gold. China is really showing up and showing out this year. This is a busy weekend with track and field events starting up and overlapping swimming and gymnastics that haven’t finished. Daniel Jepsen is back from vacation and has a full Olympic special edition on the Saturday Brunch. He covers some events that have been dropped over the years (such as live pigeon shooting and solo synchronized swimming) and unveils the 2024 Olympics in Paris logo. The internet is having some fun with it, per the usual.

Two archeology headlines this week. I would have shared this one a week or two ago but it ended up in the wrong folder. No one wants to read about 3,000 year old clay fragments first thing Monday morning. Shown above is such a fragment, believed to be the oldest physical evidence of the Hebrew language. The fragment contains the word Jerubbaal or Yeruba’al, alternate names for Gideon in the Book of Judges. Read the full story in Baptist Press.

A federal judge has ordered Hobby Lobby to return the clay tablet shown above to Iraq. Hobby Lobby president Steve Green is the founder of the Museum of the Bible. He purchased the artifact, which contains a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, from Christie’s Auction House in 2014. The item was on display at Museum of the Bible from the time it opened in 2017 until 2019 when it was confiscated by federal agents. Several items in the museum’s possession may have been looted from Iraqi archeological sites and Hobby Lobby/Museum of the Bible have been cooperating with authorities to determine the origin of the items in question. I understand returning the items if they were stolen. I don’t understand the judge ordering Hobby Lobby to pay the federal government $3 million. It seems to me that Christie’s is also culpable in this transaction as well as the “buyer” who supposedly purchased the artifact in London and imported it to the United States. The federal government didn’t ask me what I thought. Again, you can read the full story in Baptist Press.

LeVar Burton has been the guest host on Jeopardy this week. It’s only a one week stint but a returning 8 time champion with some very high scores has helped Burton raise over $200,000 for his charity that helps teach kids to read. Click here to see what I believe is Thursday night’s episode on YouTube. It’s worth it to hear him say “Yes!” or “Correct!” after an appropriate response. Definitely my wife’s favorite of the guest hosts but I feel certain that Ken Jennings will get the permanent gig. If not it will be because he turned it down.

Jovita Moore, a news anchor for WSB in Atlanta, has been very public about her cancer diagnosis. It all began with unusual headaches. Moore has a glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that is hard to treat. She had surgery back in April and is currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. These are not cures but she is being treated by Emory University healthcare so it’s probably the best anyone can get anywhere. I first thought no one outside of that Atlanta television market would care but People magazine has picked up the story, at least online. Moore is not just an on air personality but is very active in the community as well. The outpouring of support from fans has been incredible.

Part 2 of Jonah for Kids was published this week. Part 3 in the series, Jonah Preaches, will be tomorrow morning at Unity Baptist and you can expect another Jonah for Kids update Tuesday or Wednesday.

Pray for students, teachers and school support staff as kids head back to school soon. There is a lot of tension over Covid recommendations and restrictions. The country is at some sort of boiling point. I would ask that you pray with me for cool heads to prevail and for Christians to be christ-like.